Bonding
by UnoriginalPrankster
Summary: Two sisters who've never met. One, the former Goddess of Death. The other, the former Eye of the Azure. And all because of the big brother who saved them both.
1. Out of the fire

All characters are the property of ASW

Yes, I've taken a few liberties, but doesn't everyone?

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><p><strong>(AN: Play 'Breeze' from the OST if you want musical accompaniment.)**

There was complete calm. No noise, no light, just...peace But she could also sense she was missing out on something. Something important. That was almost enough for her to begin to re-gather her sensibilities. It was cool, quite agreeably so. And it came with the feeling of movement. It made a tiny part of her want to wake up, though the rest of her was quite adamantly against that at that moment. She was tired; no, that wouldn't do the term justice. Nearly every fibre of her being wanted to go back to sleep for another 10 years or so. But she wouldn't have it. Now was simply not the time.

Wind. Saya just about remembered the sensation of having it blow through your hair. It would have come easier had she been more awake, but considering what she'd just come back from, she could be forgiven for that. What also struck her as odd was the weightlessness. That definitely wasn't normal. She mustered some effort and tried opening her eyes...

...And instantly regretted it. Wherever she was, she was several hundred feet in the air, with a ruined city rolling away beneath her at some speed.

"Oh good, you're awake."

The shock made her jump, and her erstwhile courier dropped her...

"WAAAAAAAH!"

Thankfully she only managed to fall a few feet before she was caught.

"Idiot! Don't ever do that again!"

"Lemme go! Lemme go!" Saya struggled in her grasp.

"No. I promised to him that I'd take care of you, and that's what I'm gonna do."

Saya decided against further struggling and turned to her companion, a young woman with long blonde hair, blue eyes and a rather spartan attitude to clothing. It was kind of like a swimsuit, only with a lot less left to the imagination. She was really pretty though. What also stood out were the two small mounds on her chest. Saya had never seen anything like them before, and she knew she didn't have them. She gave one an experimental poke.

"What!? There's nothing there...oh, I admitted it." Her face fell.

She'd heard tales of beings called angels, with long blonde hair and who could fly. It seemed one was carrying her now. She didn't seem to have any wings, so how she was doing it was a mystery.

"How are you feeling?"

Saya was slow to answer; her big brother had warned her about trusting strangers...wait, her bro...

"Ragna! Where's my brother!?"

This brought a hug from her angel, "Ragna's okay, he'll be with us soon." The woman laughed, "He's too stubborn to let anything bad happen to him now."

"How do you know my brother? Who are you?" Saya didn't like that this unknown woman was familiar with her beloved brother...wait, she said he'd be with them soon. If she _was_ an angel, then that meant..."Where are we going!?" She was panicking again.

"My name's Noel." Her face reddened a little, "I suppose, in a way, I'm your sister."

This was too much, "Wha? B-but I don't have a sister!"

Noel leaned in and kissed her on the crown of her head. She chuckled, "You do now."

Saya looked confused. She sure didn't remember having a sister, "How?"

Noel looked embarrassed, "That's a story for later. As for where we're going, Ragna asked me get you away from the city. He's been looking for you for a long time. Let's just focus on getting you somewhere safe, alright?"

The rest of the flight was uneventful. It gave Saya the time to admire the sunset; she couldn't remember the last time she'd seen one. The orange was blending into a faint pink. It made her feel a lot more at ease somehow. Maybe it was Noel; she just felt...safe in her presence now, despite the fingers of butter and fists of ham. Like she instinctively knew no harm would come to her.

Noel started to descend towards a hill a few hundred yards from their current location. There was far too much mist below a certain height to see anything more of the area. Maybe it was just as well, as there was a certain majesty to the scene before them. As they got nearer, Saya could make out a wooden shack.

"A safe house." Noel explained. "Whenever one of us needs to hide, we always come to places like this." They touched down with little fanfare.

"There are more of you?" Saya asked

"Oh yeah!" Noel laughed, "There are quite a few of us...don't you remember?" She suddenly looked concerned "We were fighting-"

"No. I don't remember much beyond my big brother." Saya cut her off and sighed. Noel set her down, shone for a moment, and was dressed in a white vest and blue skirt and boots, "I guess I can understand that. I don't remember large chunks of my past either." The resemblance between the two was a lot more evident when Noel looked like this; her eyes had returned to their natural green.

"That...was...SO COOL! Do it again!" Saya was leaping in amazement.

"Let's just get you inside. You must be starving." Noel smiled, "A bath would help too."

The bath was uneventful; feeling grubby herself, Noel had decided to join Saya in the tub, thinkingthat, given the age difference, it wasn't too different from parent and child; her mother had bathed with her when she was little, and if Makoto could be believed, which admittedly wasn't likely, then she and her siblings bathed together when they were young too. It gave them some bonding time while tea was 'cooking', though most of that bonding consisted of splashing, blowing soap suds at each other, and other related tomfoolery. Noel enjoyed the brief chance to be a kid again.

Suitably refreshed, Noel strolled into the kitchen while Saya took a nap. Saya's white dress was filthy, so Noel had chucked it in the washing machine with some of her own laundry. With that sorted out, Noel's attention returned to food; her specialty was goulash, a beef stew recipe from old central Europe, appropriately a place called Hungary. She'd got it down to 'borderline edible'. She gave herself 4 spoonfuls of the steaming pile of something, before giving Saya 3; she looked like she could do with a good meal after all she'd been through. She carried them into the sitting room were Saya was tossing and turning, pain etched on her face, lost in a nightmare. Noel placed the meals down on the table and felt her forehead; she had quite a temperature. Noel's eyes flashed back to blue.

_What's wrong with her? _If Murakumos could interact mentally, like she and Nu had done, then she _should_ be able to do it with Saya. She felt her consciousness begin to drift...

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><p><em>"Just...lemme see her...one last time...please."<em>

_Back on the battlefield. The resurgent Take-Mikazuchi holding the ragdoll-esque Ragna in its fingers._

_"Do you finally accept that your struggle was pointless? That death is your one and only truth?"_

_"..."_

_"Then enjoy. The peace your soul longs for is at hand." A body sprouting from the gigant's chest..._

_"Br...brother?"_

_"Hi Say...a."_

_"Where am I?...What happened to you?"_

_"Heh, nothing you should worry about. Big brother business."_

_"C-can we go home?"_

_Tears fell down Ragna's cheeks, "Yeah, soon." _

_Saga's eyes turned red. "Your request is fulfilled. Now you may die..."_

_"No!"_

_Saya began to retreat back into the Behemoth, "She belongs to me now."_

_"...get FUCKING REAL!" Ragna grabbed and tried to prise her out, not easy with only one arm._

_"Futility. I cannot be denied. This vessel has no other reason to be than to give me the..."_

_"Well, here goes nothing...JIN, PLATINUM, NOEL, NOW!"_

_"The Power of Order!", " Murakumo!" "Muchorin!" Feelings of something terrible being ripped away from Saya's soul. A sickly figure hovering over her, phantasmal chains linking the two._

_"Observing us as separate beings? Inconsequential. I am far too tightly woven to her soul for you to.."_

_"Sorry kiddo, but I beg to differ. MUSASHI!"_

_They fell. "Way to go, master." Ragna grabbed Saya and made sure he hit the ground first, to the crack of breaking bones. Saya was out cold._

_"No! Not today!" Powered by nothing more than the fire in his soul, Ragna got up and ran, "Noel!"_

_"Huh?" Ragna placed the unconscious girl in her arms, "Just get her out here!"_

_"But..."_

_Celica was already patching him up, "Don't argue! Just go!"_

_"...Don't you dare die on us. She would never forgive you...and neither would I!" Noel took off._

(**A/N: Black Onslaught II for this littke passage :D**)_  
><em>

_"Gotcha." Celica having finished, Ragna reached for the bag on his hip, and pulled out the all too familiar circular device, which oozed darkness into the stump of his right arm. Wait, this feeling...that's Nu's... "Now where we? Oh yeah...Restriction 666 released!"_

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><p>Noel was back at the safe house, the expression on Saga's face had softened, but still looked pained. "Psst wake up." She gave her a shake. Saya woke with a start.<p>

"Dinner's ready...are you okay? Looked like you were having a nightmare." Saya just nodded. Noel handed her a plate of the stew. Due to a lack of extra clothes that fitted, Saya sat wearing a dressing gown about 10 sizes too big for her. She looked kind of cute, in that 'girl trying to wear mom's high heels' sort of way. She took a mouthful...

"...This is...AWESOME!"

"You really like it?" Noel was hopeful.

"Yeah, this is better than big brother's cooking!"

Inside her head, ChibiNoels were popping champagne bottles, throwing confetti, doing cartwheels and generally freaking out; apart from Mai, no one had ever complemented her cooking before. Getting one over Ragna was just a bonus.

She scooped Saya up in a bear hug, "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!"

"Hehe. You're the best sis ever!"

(**A/N: Stardust Memory for this bit.**)

After the two had stopped laughing, Noel took a look out of the window, "Wanna go watch the sunset?"

Saya had already seen it on the way here, so she didn't think it'd be that interesting. Once she got another look at the sky, however, she quickly changed her mind; that faint pink had gone a most vibrant shade, nearly red.

"Whoa..."

Noel grabbed a chair and spare blanket, stepped outside and set it down just outside the door. She patted her lap, "Have a seat."

"Aren't we hiding?" Saya was a little confused.

"Ohnononono. We just came here for safety. No one's chasing us. Besides, I'm here to protect you."

Satisfied with explanation, Saya ambled over and snuggled up to Noel. They sat in silence for several minutes, just staring into space.

"You said you'd tell me how we're sisters before."

Noel sighed. This would take some explaining, "What's the last thing you remember?" She'd hoped Saga's memory had cleared up a little by now.

"Ragna and Jin...the church...outside the church. It was sunny..."

Noel considered for a moment where to begin. "Well, do you remember a man with green hair?" Says shook her head, "Well, he kidnapped you, and had the one he served take over your body...your mind, I'm not really sure how it worked. We've only just got you back, which is why you don't remember a lot." She let Saya digest this for a moment. "Anyhow, there's something called The Boundary, kinda like the space outside the universe. Humans can't go there, so they created...well...others from you, called the Murakumo Units. I'm one of them, the twelfth to be exact. I guess that makes you my sister, kinda like twins." Says looked a little overwhelmed. Noel couldn't blame her; it took her a while to come to terms with what she was and where she came from. Deciding she had told her enough for now, Noel went back to admiring the view.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Noel whispered. She looked to Saya, only to see her eyes drooping and head lolling. Thinking it would help, Noel began singing a lullaby, one she remembered her mom singing to her back in the day. Noel was actually a pretty good singer; while she, in her own opinion, was no Tsubaki, she could more than hold a tune. She scratched Saya's scalp gently till she fell asleep.

"Sweet dreams Saya." Noel whispered. She soon found herself feeling pretty drowsy too, and it wasn't long before both of them were sleeping under the stars.

_Hehehe...I have a little sister._


	2. The Best Laid Plans

**BGM: Stardust Memory**

Hours later...

"Oh what I wouldn't give for a camera right now."

A familiar voice roused Noel from her slumber; her best friend, Makoto.

"Makoto!" Noel's outburst woke Saya, who just gawped at the squirrel girl for several awkward moments, "T-tail..." She reached her handed out.

"What? You wanna fondle my tail too? Never seen a beastkin before, huh." Makoto flicked her favoutite extremity out for Saya to play with. "My name's Makoto. I'm a friend of Noel's. You're Saya, right?" Saya nodded. Despite the fact it had long gone dark, Noel could clearly see all the cuts and bruises that covered Makoto's body.

"Is everyone alright?" Noel asked

Makoto grimaced. "We won, but..."

"Tsubaki!?"

"Tsubaki's okay. Well, physically okay. But she's a bit of a mess right now."

"What happened?" Noel didn't like where this was going. "Did something happen to Jin?"

"No, Jin's okay too. A bit beat up, but he'll live." A glimmer of recognition lit up on Saya's face. "But we...Hakumen...didn't make it." Well no wonder Tsubaki was so upset. He was her hero. "Tsubaki'll tell you more when she's up to it."

"What about my brother? What about Ragna?" Saya was getting worried.

Makoto knealt down, "Ragna's okay, he's just getting patched up, then he'll be on his way here." Saya looked so relieved. "Everyone else's on their way here too, so you can get the full details as and when they show up." she stood, "I had no pressing reason to stay, hence why I'm first here."

"You must be hungry, miss Makoto." Saya was pulling at the hem of her loincloth' "Sis has made a real yummy beef dinner."

"Errr...I think I'll pass, thanks all the same." Makoto yawned, "I could do with catching some Z's though."

"Go ahead", Noel motioned. Makoto went inside, "Makoto's a big kid at heart. I think you'll really like her." Noel said to Saya. "Uh-huh" came the reply. Several minutes past before a high pitched whine, like an idle jet engine, announced the arrival of another; an exhausted looking Tsubaki. Her Izayoi form faded aa she landed. She staggered to Noel, who took her into her arms.

"I'm so...so sorry" she whispered. Tsubaki just nodded. There were evident tear streaks down her grubby cheeks, which Noel thought slightly out of character for Tsu; sure she hero worshipped the guy, but to be so upset over someone she hardly knew. Even Jin couldn't get her this bad.

"Sorry Noel. It's just...(sniff)...Sir Hakumen revealed something to me. I guess things make a lot more sense now." She looked ready to break down again. Noel held her face, "Tell me."

"Well, as he...lay dying...oh god I can't" she sobbed again. Noel did her best to try and calm her down. "He...he...told me who he was...it was...it was Jin all along. And he...told me he...loved me." The sobbing turned into full blown wailing that carried on for a good couple of minutes. Clearly she'd been bottling her grief up during the battle just so she could keep going, and now she was letting it out. Noel considered trying to make Tsubaki get a hold of herself, but decided it was better in the long run if she just let her grieve. After all her idolising, to find out he was really the guy you crushed on, and this one actually expicitly returned your affections and you could never share a moment with them, that was a hammer blow to fell anyone. Why he did it to her was a mystery. Maybe it was to push her to actually try and confront Jin about his feelings. Or just to pass on with no regrets. At least that's what Noel thought. They'd never know now.

Once she'd calmed down a little, Noel gave her a sad smile, "Go and get some rest. Makoto's already inside, so she'll keep you company if you want it." Tsu nodded and lurched her way inside, clearly fatigued. She spoke to Saya, "My other good friend, Tsubaki. Just be sure to be on your best behaviour around her. She's normally very strict. She's had it rough recently, so don't be too upset if she's a bit short tempered with you." Saya nodded before heading inside, Noel following.

"Hey Tsu." Makoto had just climbed into bed. Frankly, she was just too tired to bother with a bath or shower; she'd deal with that in the morning. She pulled the quilt to one side. Tsubaki was silent as she plonked herself down on the bed. She managed to unbutton her jacket and kick off her boots, her trousers and undershirt not worth the hassle, before flopping in a disorganised heap. Makoto wasn't too familiar with the 'thousand yard stare', but the fact that Tsu hadn't blinked or even turned to face her had a few alarm bells ringing.

_Please, stay strong Tsubaki..._

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><p>They spent the next couple of hours sitting watching late night TV, which, needless to say, was utter shash. Tsu joined them, not being able to sleep, so Noel got out some chocolate from the fridge in the faint hope of making her feel better; if her favourite food didn't improve her mood a little, nothing would. Thankfully, it seemed to help a little.<p>

Tsubaki couldn't help but dwell on what happened. With time quickly running out for the world, Rachel had gathered everyone she could vaguely call an ally together for one last throw of the dice; a mass assault on Izanami and her underlings. Tsubaki, Jin and Celica had been tasked with subduing Ragna the Bloodedge, if possible trying to restore him. Jubei and Kokonoe had been sent after Phantom, while Hakumen and Valkenhayn were assigned to destroy Nu. Rachel went on to investigate the Embryo with Platinum and Noel, while everyone else, under Kagura's leadership, was to keep Izanami herself busy. A high stakes game of Divide and Conquer. She couldn't help but feel that it was a deeply flawed plan to begin with, but on the other hand it was better than no plan at all.

Ragna's portion went off without a hitch. Celica 's healing and ability to nulify the Azure Grimoire made her an obvious choice. Tsubaki was chosen as a teleporter, giving them greater versatility, and to offer support fire, leaving Jin to handle mist of the fighting; Rachel had to take a leap if faith that Jin and Tsubaki wouldn't just kill Ragna, hoping Celica could offset that threat. With Celica nullifying his Azure Grimoire, and with Ragna displaying no control, finesse or even an urge to defend himself, it wasn't that difficult for Jin to find an oppurtunity to lop it off with Yukikaze, thus removing any influencel Izanami may have had over him. A bit of Celica's magic and he was back in the fight. And more to the point, he had a plan...

Phantom proved to be more of a challenge. Her greater experience and power over her daughter was enough to offset the versatility Kokonoe's technical wizardry provided. It took Jubei's Sekigan to break the deadlock, being able to 'see' the difference between Phantom and Nine, and managing to strike at 'the ties that bind'. Tsu had teleported Celica and the rest there in time for Konoe to say goodbye to her loved ones. There wasn't anytime to mourn though. Her body had been teleported back to Halloween. They could arrange a more fitting send off later.

Nu, however, was a complete disaster. Hakumen knew going in that this would probably be the last thing he ever did. Rachel almost certainly chose him for this task with that in mind, and to keep him away from Ragna, who she wanted taking alive if possible, and knew Hakumen would not stick to the plan. Haku soon proved to be a liability; he had lost far too much power by then, meaning Valk had to deal with Nu by himself for the most part. When they got there, Ragna and Tsu did step in to help, and did enough to open her up for Haku to decapitate her. Ultimately, it proved too much for the old warhorse, and while the rest moved on to Izanami, she insisted on staying behind to give him some comfort in his final moments. He passed on in Tsubaki's arms, taking the chance to tell her who he really was and where, or rather when, he came from. What was a shock was a Chronophantasma of another Tsubaki briefly materialising out of the boundary.

_"Huh? Tsu...Tsubaki?"_

_"Yes, it's me Jin...You've done enough..you don't need to fight anymore."_

_Hakumen sighed, "I can...finally...rest."_

_"Yes...I never blamed you for what happened. Let go."_

_One Tsubaki smiled at the other, "Thank you. For everything."_

_She took the Susano'o unit in her arms, "Come on Jin, let's go home."_

_"Yes...home..."_

_They faded away. And the Susano'o unit lay still._

_While her heart was yelling at her to just break down and cry, she knew she still had a job to do, and mourning would have to wait._

As for the Embryo, Izanami had a little surprise, in the form of simulacrum's of Relius and Terumi, to guard it. Thankfully, they were _cheap_ imitations of the real duo, My and Rachel disposing of them eventually, and Rachel dispersing the souls contained within.

Having already retrieved Nu's Eye of the Azure and confirming the feasibility of his gambit with Rachel, Ragna faced Izanami, who had reactivated Take-Mikazuchi in the interim; while far from beaten, the rest of the gang had done a pretty good job of wearing her down. Ragna insisted on doing it alone, to everyone's bafflement. However it all became clear when Ragna was on the ropes, and tricked Izanami into letting him see Saya one last time; arrogant as she was, she obliged, allowing Jin to use the Power of Order in combination with Platinum's matter creation and Mu's observation to sustain them as seperate entities, kind of like what the Six Heroes did with Terumi, which in turn allowed Jubei to slash the ties again, freeing Saya from the possession, and forcing Izanami to retreat inside Take-Mikazuchi. Ragna had ordered Noel to retreat with Saya to keep her safe, while they finished the fight. Activating the Eye of the Azure, Ragna and the rest could stop holding back, and a barrage of Astral Heats softened the Goddess of Death up sufficiently for Ragna, The Godslayer, to erase her from existence with an overclocked Black Onslaught.

With his goal achieved, Ragna had given up the Eye; he no longer needed it, and it was high time he just started living. The time at Kokonoe's was to have another prosthetic fitted. He couldn't wait to see the look on Saya's face when he walked through the door.

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><p>A click at the door signalled the arrival of Jin. He definitely looked worse for wear, sporting a black eye, some scar worthy cuts on his cheek, and a very noticable limp. Saya's face fell when she saw him; memories of how nasty he'd been came rushing back.<p>

"Saya..." Jin was impassive as ever. He staggered towards her. Saya, scared, skittered behind Noel. Seeing 2 people he instinctively despised, he glared, but his look softened when he saw Tsubaki, who hadn't even registered his arrival.

"Tsubaki, I..."

"Jin...I need to...to know." Jin didn't like where this was going, "Sir Hakumen told me about himself and you. He told me about..well...me...Jin, do you..love me?"

Damn. Put on the spot with a question he'd hoped she'd never ask. "Honestly, I can't answer that right now. I'm still trying to figure that out myself." That seemingly upset Tsu even more; if he wasn't certain by now, then chances were it wasn't meant to be. "I see..."

"Maybe I'll have an answer for you soon. After all, I have time now" he said before heading to the kitchen.

No sooner had he departed then the front door opened again...

"Looking for me, little lady?"

"Raaaaaagnaaaaaa!."

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><p><em>Part 2 fin.<em>

We all know Musashi can cut that what cannot normally be cut, so that could potentially include slightly more abstract stuff, kind of like how Kuma's powers can work in One Piece


End file.
